As if things could get any worse for Mirkarimi — suspended Wednesday by Mayor Ed Lee for pleading guilty to falsely imprisoning his wife — 1,000 domestic violence advocates from around the world will converge on the Marriott Hotel Thursday through Saturday.

They’re coming from all over the United States, as well as Australia, New Zealand and several European countries. And you better believe they’ve heard that strange tale about our sheriff.

“They’re aware of it,” said Beverly Upton, executive director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium. “The city is solid. We have great domestic violence programs. That’s why all of us were so aghast at this national embarrassment.”

The timing is certainly strange, but it’s pure coincidence. Past conferences have taken place in Atlanta, Boston and New Orleans, and they’re planned far in advance.

Upton and other advocates have taken Mirkarimi to task for what they view as a callous response to the charges, including calling the New Year’s Eve incident in which he reportedly grabbed and bruised his wife’s arm in front of their crying 2-year-old son “a private matter, a family matter.”

Futures Without Violence, the San Francisco-based organization that puts on the conference, has also spoken out against Mirkarimi.

Ross Mirkarimi

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi refuses to resign. (Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle)

Its homepage has an article calling on Mirkarimi to resign reading, in part, “In short, San Francisco played by the rules and upheld the laws and standards that have been instituted to protect victims of violence and hold all offenders accountable for their behavior. It’s time for Mirkarimi to demonstrate humility and good judgment by stepping aside and sparing the community the additional turmoil and expense of a prolonged public proceeding.”

Mirkarimi has said he won’t resign because his misdeeds don’t rise to the level of “official misconduct” and that he’ll instead weather a trial at the Ethics Commission and the Board of Supervisors to decide if he should be permanently removed from office.

Though surely the water cooler talk at the conference will be about Mirkarimi, its focus is officially on prevention and how health care providers play a role in that.

Interestingly, prosecutors in the case against Mirkarimi presented text messages between his wife, Eliana Lopez, and her neighbor. In one, Lopez writes, “I am not going to call the police. I am going to open a record with my doctor.”

Lisa James, director of health at Futures Without Violence, said it’s not just police officers who are on the front lines of domestic violence cases — but doctors and nurses, too.

Not only are they able to spot obvious indicators like bruises and black eyes, but they’re increasingly trained to ask any patient during a regular check-up whether there’s any family violence at home. States vary on whether doctors are required to notify police when the answer is yes — in California, they are if they’re specifically treating resulting injuries.

James said a whole host of chronic conditions can result from domestic violence and stress in the home including heart disease, asthma, cancer and mental health issues. Unwanted pregnancies and poor reproductive health are also frequently associated with domestic violence, she said.

“When you have exposure to violence or you’re living in a violent situation, the stress you experience can make you sick,” she said.

The conference will feature 400 presenters discussing a range of topics, but some might hold particular interest to those following the Mirkarimi case.

There’s “How Are The Children? Evidence Based Programs that Address Children Exposed to Violence” by San Francisco’s own Dr. Nadine Burke Harris as well as several workshops on how domestic violence affects immigrant women like Lopez, who is from Venezuela.